Europe Day 10: Adventure is Out There!

This morning, I intended to go for a walk, find a sunny place, and read my book.  Alone, quiet, relaxing.

Instead, I bumped into Kayla.  We wandered through the leather market and into a shop where we picked up some sandwiches.  We decided to walk to Piazzale Michelangiolo, eat our sandwiches, and spend alone time together, each reading our own books.

Instead, we ate lunch long before we made it to the Piazzale.  When we got there, we just kept going and managed to climb the hill all the way to St. Miniato ai Monte-a Monastery.  We wandered through the beautiful sanctuary, admired the mausoleum and other burial sites.  These people are very classy, even when dead.

From the monestary we could look down into the trees and could see a little path winding outside the monestary walls, and soon found the trailhead.  I felt as though I had landed in The Secret Garden, as was Mary Lennox, wishing I could fly like a bird over the wall and into places unknown.

Eventually, the path ran into a pretty stone wall, and we decided to walk along it.  A castle tower could be seen in the distance, and we were determined to follow the path to it.  A sense of adventure lured us through the tall trees, and over the stone wall onto a skinny little road.  (It is important to have a small car here, or else you may not be able to drive many places!)  We walked between high walls and past houses, with wisteria spilling out of gardens and greeting our noses with their pleasent scent.

After a while we found the main road, where we were lucky enough to intersect a pair of college girls-much like ourselves-who spoke english.  We asked about the castle, and they encouraged us to continue up hill.  There were no "touristy" things, but many beautiful views of castles and vineyards.  Our appetites whetted, we walked up the hill, excited for what would greet us.

We soon left the city limits and found ourselves in the heart of Tuscany.  Or at least what I imagine the heart of Tuscany would look like!  Lush green grass carpeted vineyards that stretched over rolling hills, reaching all the way to the brightly colored main house.  I have never been so tempted to tresspass in my life!  I felt my world would be complete if I could wander under the trees, listening to birds sing and smelling the olive trees around me.   Tuscany is, hands down, the most beautiful country I have ever seen!

Our wandering continued, always expecting a beautiful view around the bend.  We ended up in a little town, with charming Italian houses and many Italian flags.  Advenutre continued to pull us forward, down a pretty lane.  But, as the hill sloped downwards and the clock ticked closer to dinner, we decided to return. As wonderful as our adventure had been, we did not want to be caught in unfamiliar country after dark.

The walk back was much quicker; though it was difficult to walk past every vantage point without taking a few more pictures.  Eventually we returned to the city and found some delicious dinner and flavorfull gelato.  Completely content, we returned to our hotel, grateful for our adventure.